Union transport ministry to turn private bikes into public mode of transport

The government wants to put private two-wheelers lying unused to use in a bid to reduce vehicles on roads. Pic for representation

The government wants to put private two-wheelers lying unused to use in a bid to reduce vehicles on roads. Pic for representation

We have the three-wheeler autorickshaws and four-wheeler taxis, so now, how about a two-wheeler mode of public transport, that's a possibility the Centre is exploring. This will mainly be for the last-mile connectivity.

Going the last mile
As per a report prepared by a committee set up by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on 'proposed taxi policy guideline to promote urban mobility' and submitted on December 15, there is a need to look into promoting low-cost last-mile connectivity. For this, it is suggesting that the state government look at the possibility of allowing two-wheelers and e-rickshaws. This is a part of the whole concept of promoting share modes of transport, in a bid to remove nine to 13 vehicles from the road.

"The states should promote bike-sharing and e-rickshaws for last-mile connectivity. The state transport department may allow two-wheeler taxi permits along the lines of those issued to four-wheeler ones. This will offer an economical and convenient last-mile connectivity solution to the public," states the report.

A transport department official said, "The report is recommending that existing private bikes may be allowed for such transportation in order to facilitate their utilisation. The state has been also asked to consider allowing private bikes to turn into commercial vehicles by doing the procedure online instead of visiting an RTO."

The report adds that the number of vehicles across India is rising drastically, thereby increasing pollution. "Cities are suffering from severe congestion as well as pollution. Congestion-related loss amounts to R60,000 crore per annum, even though less than 5 per cent of the population owns cars."

Autos to be the new Uber?
Aside from this, the government also wants autorickshaws to be a part of mobile aggregators. Sources said that with the concept of using e-wallets in taxis and autorickshaws becoming more popular, the government should also look into the option of bringing autorickshaws under aggregation.

This would mean that these services too would work similar to Uber and Ola. The report has recommended that the transport department be allowed to charge the aggregators a suitable service charge for this.

27 Lakh
Total number of vehicles in Mumbai

15 Lakh
Number of two-wheelers in the city